Over the last month and a half, Hoops Rumors has been examining the 2018 offseason moves for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and other key news and transactions. Our Offseason in Review pieces for each of the league’s 30 teams are linked below, sorted by conference and division.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast Division
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
Pacific Division
Southwest Division
When Wilson Chandler signed a four-year, $46.5MM extension with the Nuggets during the summer of 2015, he planned on playing out the contract in Denver. Still, he never viewed it as a lock that he’d be in Colorado for the entire deal.
“To be honest, I never really thought about it much because I knew at any moment I could be traded,” Chandler told Hoops Rumors in an exclusive interview before the Sixers‘ third game of the season on Saturday. “So I kind of just dealt with [the chances of being traded] day-to-day.”
The Nuggets sent the combo forward to the Sixers this past offseason in a financially-driven deal. The event marked the second time Chandler has been traded during his 10-year career (he was sent from the Knicks to the Nuggets in the 2011 Carmelo Anthony blockbuster).
“When you’re younger, even though you know it’s a business, it’s still shocking when you get traded especially when you’re in a good rhythm and just getting a feel for a place, you kind of like it and you’re settled in,” Chandler told Hoops Rumors.
“As you get older, you realize more and more how the business works,” Chandler continued. “You look at both teams and see if you’re going to a good situation. That plays a big part in it. The city, the organization, the team.”
On Saturday, Chandler said he was about a week away from making his regular season debut with the Sixers, as he’s still recovering from a strained hamstring. While the injury has kept him sidelined since the club’s first preseason game, he’s excited to get back out there with his new teammates.
“Just watching from afar and then being in training camp with these guys. It’s an amazing team, a young team,” Chandler said.
The 76ers have also been open with him about the role the 31-year-old will play once he’s healthy enough to return to the court.
“A little three, a little four. Kind of a two-way [forward]. Make open shots, defend, and play off of Ben [Simmons] and Joel [Embiid],” Chandler explained. “You really don’t need to do too much playing with those guys.”
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2018 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2018/19 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Golden State Warriors.
Standard contracts:
Check out the Golden State Warriors’ full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.
For the defending champions, the summer was quite eventful, as several key role players were replaced and one big name was added. Of course, that big name is DeMarcus Cousins, the six-time All-Star. Cousins joins the Warriors as he continues to rehab from the torn Achilles that he suffered in January, which will likely keep him out of action for at least the first couple of months of the season.
When he returns, Cousins adds an interesting dynamic to a team that has cruised to back-to-back championships. Throughout this current run, the Warriors have never had a dominant forecourt presence like Cousins can be when healthy. Unlike more traditional back-to-the-basket bigs, Cousins fits with the Warriors’ style of play as someone who can handle the ball and hit 3-pointers. Before going down with the injury last season, Cousins was averaging 5.4 assists and was knocking down 2.2 threes per game.
While Cousins’ skill set fits with how the Warriors are looking to play, there are underlying concerns regarding his ability to accept a small role on a team that knows it can be successful without him. How will Cousins deal with not closing games if the Warriors go small? How does he manage a smaller workload when on the floor with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and the team’s other All-Stars? The questions surrounding Cousins’ fit with the Warriors add another storyline to the season for the champions.
Underneath the flashy addition of Cousins, the Warriors replaced several role players from last season’s squad, with Jonas Jerebko absorbing frontcourt minutes and Jacob Evans potentially carving out a role in the backcourt. Gone are veterans such as David West, Nick Young and Zaza Pachulia as the Warriors re-tooled around their core.
However, there are still concerns regarding the team’s depth. Behind Curry and Klay Thompson are relatively unproven Quinn Cook, aging Shaun Livingston and the aforementioned Evans. On the wing there really is no depth behind Durant and Andre Iguodala, who will turn 35 years old in January. Up front there are several options to fill the gap until Cousins is ready, but inconsistency has continued to plague the young bigs on the roster.
Regardless, all eyes will be on Golden State when Cousins returns to action. By then, the Warriors may be on cruise control and have a firm grasp on the Western Conference. On the other hand, perhaps the lack of depth and motivation will have them closer to the pack as they approach the best ways to work Cousins into the mix. Regardless, it will surely make the regular season more interesting than it has been in previous years for the Warriors.
We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com.
Any leads on where Joakim Noah will end up? — Nicolaus Galipeau
It’s not a good sign for the former Knicks center that he has been on the market for a week now and no serious suitors have stepped up. There was a time when it was assumed he would be the next ex-Bull to follow Tom Thibodeau to Minnesota, but Thibs has indicated that the Wolves aren’t interested, plus he has bigger concerns to deal with. The Lakers don’t really have a center to back up JaVale McGee, so that might be a situation to watch. Noah is only 33 and was a First Team All-NBA center in 2014. On the other hand, he hasn’t turned in a really effective season since then and his reputation took a major hit in New York. Even if he does get another chance, his time as a productive player may be finished.
Do you think the one-and-done rule for NBA rookies should be abolished as Commisioner Adam Silver wants? For me, it should be continued as very few high school players are ready to jump from high school to NBA. — Greg Dizon
There are too many options for young players now for the one-and-done rule to remain effective. The NBA announced this week that high school graduates will be able to join the G League, making $125K while they wait to become draft eligible. Others have chosen to play overseas for a year, and LaVar Ball has talked about starting a Junior Basketball Association for high school grads. With so many opportunities to play professionally, there’s no reason to keep denying elite 18-year-olds access to the NBA.
The Nuggets signed Michael Malone to an extension this week. Why would they make that kind of commitment to a coach who has never been to the playoffs? — Nuggets Fan, via Twitter
While it’s true that Malone has never reached the postseason as a head coach, he missed by the slimmest possible margin last year, losing to the Timberwolves in overtime on the last night of the regular season. Malone has the organization moving in the right direction, posting win totals of 33, 40 and 46 in his three seasons at the helm. He was entering the final year of his contract, and management didn’t want didn’t want that to become a distraction. The Nuggets believe they have the right mix of players in place to be successful and they like the stability of having Malone signed through the end of 2020/21.
Paul George confirmed what most NBA fans had suspected for a long time when he said this week that was planning to sign with the Lakers before a trade to Oklahoma City changed his mind. George was expected to be among two max-level free agents headed to L.A. over the summer, but he liked the Thunder and his new city so much he elected to re-sign there.
“It was 50-50 on deciding whether I wanted to come back home or if it was smarter to be in the situation I am in now,” George said in an interview with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “But it wasn’t overstated. I wanted to play in L.A. That is where I wanted to go. Had that trade never went down, had I played one more year in Indy, I would have been in a Lakers uniform.”
We know now that if George had chosen the Lakers, he would have joined LeBron James to form a one-two punch that’s as good as any in the league. It also would have cost the team about $130MM over four years and would have eliminated the chance to lure another free agent from an extremely talented class next summer.
As it stands, L.A. has roughly $65.8MM committed for 2019/20, a number that moves closer to $69MM if the team opts to make a qualifying offer to Ivica Zubac and keep Svi Mykhailiuk on what is now a non-guaranteed deal. That leaves more than enough to make a max offer to Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, Jimmy Butler or any other upcoming free agent.
Durant and James would be a historically great combo if they decide to join forces, but it would be a difficult decision for him or Thompson leave the perennial champion Warriors. Leonard and James would also be formidable, but he reportedly doesn’t want to be a second banana and is leaning toward the Clippers if he comes to L.A. Butler might be a good running mate for James, but given his injury history and overall abrasiveness, he seems like the riskiest proposition. It’s laughable to think of Kyrie Irving traveling west to rejoin LeBron, but the other stars are at least plausible.
So which is better, Lakers fans? Would you rather have George in place for a run at the title this season or the financial flexibility to chase a big name next summer? Please leave your responses in the space below.
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2018 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2018/19 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Standard contracts:
Check out the Minnesota Timberwolves’ full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Everything else that happened for the Timberwolves during the offseason was overshadowed on September 19 when Jimmy Butler issued a trade request to the front office. The move spawned a stream of chaos, some of it orchestrated and some of it legitimate, but the result was that Butler was in the lineup when Minnesota opened the season, regardless of his wishes.
Butler has expressed a desire to play for a contender and has clashed frequently with younger teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, but ultimately the dispute is motivated by money. Butler wants a five-year max deal next summer that would pay him around $190MM. The Wolves have his Bird Rights and are the only team that can extend that offer as long as he stays; everyone else is limited to four years at roughly $140MM. Butler is hoping to be traded during the season to another organization willing to make that commitment.
The Heat and Rockets have been the strongest suitors for Butler since his trade request became public, and Miami reportedly had an agreement in place before the Wolves asked for additional assets. That incident, along with sky-high requests from other teams that pursued Butler, have led many to question whether Minnesota has ever been serious about making a deal. Trade talks have been called “mostly dormant” for now, but Butler has maintained his desire to leave and there’s a strong chance something will materialize before the February deadline.
The Butler soap opera dwarfed a piece of good news that may have a greater impact on the Wolves’ future. Towns agreed to an extension last month that could pay him up to $190MM over the next five seasons. He is already among the league’s best centers at age 22 and should provide a cornerstone for the franchise to build around once Butler is gone.
Every week, our writing team at Hoops Rumors creates original content to complement our news feed. Below are the original segments and features from the past seven days:
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2018 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2018/19 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Phoenix Suns.
Standard contracts:
Check out the Phoenix Suns’ full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Devin Booker is still around. In fact, Booker signed a rookie scale max five-year extension this summer, which will make him a franchise cornerstone for years to come.
Beyond Booker and his sweet shooting stroke, the Suns look a whole lot different than they did last season. In fact, Phoenix had the biggest roster turnover of any team this offseason.
The Suns made some history in May by hiring Igor Koskokov, the first European-born head coach in NBA history. Koskokov spent 18 years in the league, most recently with the Jazz, before finally getting his big chance.
Draft night was guaranteed to be a pivotal moment in franchise history since the Suns had the top pick. They opted for center Deandre Ayton, who got his NBA career rolling with an 18-point, 10-rebound, 6-assist performance in his regular-season debut. Ayton could quickly develop into the one of the league’s premier big men, which would give the Suns a formidable inside-outside duo.
They swung a deal for another lottery pick, No. 10 selection Mikal Bridges, whom they project as their long-term solution at small forward. In the interim, Phoenix made a splash by signing Trevor Ariza to a one-year, $15MM contract.
Ariza’s contributions as a leader and winner will have a greater long-term impact than anything he does on the court this season. A sage, respected voice was needed in the locker room and they met Ariza’s price to provide it.
Ariza gave up a chance to play for a contender but he can re-enter the market next summer after cashing some big checks. He’ll put up some big numbers along the way and provide his usual solid defense, something the coaching staff can point out in the film room to the younger players.
Perhaps the most surprising personnel moves were made by owner Robert Sarver. During the latter stages of training camp, Sarver abruptly fired GM Ryan McDonough and several other executives. Typically, these types of decisions come right after a disappointing season rather than October in order to let the new regime shape the franchise as it sees fit. McDonough wasn’t going to win any popularity contests but the decisions he made this summer before clearing out his office will be felt for many years.
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2018 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2018/19 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Boston Celtics.
Standard contracts:
Check out the Boston Celtics’ full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.
During the 2016 and 2017 offseasons, no NBA team added more All-Stars to its roster than the Celtics, who signed Al Horford and Gordon Hayward before trading for Kyrie Irving. For good measure, the club used a pair of third overall picks to draft Jaylen Brown in 2016 and Jayson Tatum in 2017.
However, the Celtics never really got to see that five-man core in action during the 2017/18 season. Hayward went down with a gruesome season-ending ankle injury during the club’s first game of the year, and Irving’s season ended early due to knee issues.
For the Celtics then, the 2018 offseason wasn’t about going out and getting another All-Star — it was about making sure that their current ones got back to full health to see what the entire group looks like on the court.
Boston’s front office was hardly dormant during the summer of 2018. Restricted free agent negotiations with Marcus Smart were tough, Aron Baynes needed to be re-signed, and the team made a few other tweaks around the edges of its roster before also securing a verbal commitment from Irving, a 2019 free-agent-to-be.
However, the Celtics enter the 2018/19 as the Eastern Conference favorites not because of which players they added over the offseason, but rather because of which players they’re bringing back. With Hayward and Irving healthy and Tatum and Brown continuing to develop, this roster has far more upside than last year’s group, even without any significant changes.
When the Kings sign Troy Williams to a two-way contract after he clears waivers today, as is expected, they’ll become the 16th NBA team to fill all 17 of their available roster spots, with 15 players on standard contracts and two more on two-way pacts.
Still, that will leave nearly half of the league’s teams that will still have at least one opening on their rosters, either on the standard 15-man squad or in their two-way slots.
For many clubs, that decision is primarily financially motivated. Teams like the Warriors, Rockets, Thunder, Raptors, and Wizards all project to have pricey luxury tax bills at season’s end, so there’s no need for them to push those projected penalties higher by carrying an extra player they won’t use.
Other teams may simply prefer to preserve some roster flexibility rather than carrying a full 15-man squad. The Lakers, for instance, aren’t close to the tax line, but have an open roster spot for now. That could allow the team to make a trade or signing later to fortify its roster without costing anyone a job.
Listed below, with the help of our roster counts breakdown, are the teams that aren’t carrying full rosters.